Protests in France marred by rioting, looting: What to know

Protests in France descended into rioting and looting over the weekend as French President Emmanuel Macron called for calm.

The protests started out in September at a high school in a suburb of Paris and were initially focused on teacher shortages and deteriorating building conditions. The protests then swiftly spread to other parts of the country.

Since that time, fringe riots have engulfed the country, causing numerous clashes between the police and French protesters. The rioting reached a peak Saturday, which many politicians are now calling the worst social unrest France has seen in decades.

Macron said in a televised address to France that “those who looted will have to pay back for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable.”

The French president said he believed the riots were caused by “unrestrained violence” from “insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals.”

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has left the door open to declaring a state of emergency but has asked local leaders in several French cities to announce partial curfews, according to The Associated Press .

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said riots had broken out in Paris and across several other cities in France and that rioters had “looted and ransacked numerous businesses,” according to translation on social platform X .

“Attacking our law enforcement forces, targeting our institutions, degrading public buildings, breaking into prefectures or town halls, looting businesses: nothing can justify it,” Nuñez wrote. “From midday onward—in Marseille, from the morning—outrages were committed by several thousand far-left individuals determined to target our public buildings and confront our law enforcement forces.”

Nuñez confirmed that as of Sunday morning, more than 2,000 people had been taken into custody, while more than 600 law enforcement officers from various agencies had been injured.

“The material damage is considerable, particularly for several hundred business owners. The Republic will yield nothing to those who seek to impose disorder and violence,” he concluded on social media.

Nuñez has faced backlash from French politicians over the government’s response to the riots, resulting in him submitting his resignation over the weekend.

Macron rejected Nuñez’s resignation, telling him to “take all necessary steps to ensure transparency over the failures in planning and intelligence that led to the violence,” according to France 24 .

French Economy Minister Roland Lescure pledged support for the thousands of businesses that had been damaged by riots, writing in a statement that “those ⁠who break ​things will pay, repair the damage and be held accountable for their intention to sow chaos,” according to Reuters .

Disputes between French national and local government

The riots have divided French politicians as many feel Macron’s government did not respond sufficiently enough to the protests.

One city in France, Limoges, was ravaged by fires, and its 19th-century city hall is now largely destroyed.

Limoges Mayor Guillaume Guérin told Reuters that he believed there were not enough national police deployed to the city, adding that “there was a clear, premeditated intention to burn down the town hall, and the people inside feared for their lives.”

Far-right leader and French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen criticized Macron’s government directly on social media , saying it was “exhausted, disoriented and seemingly incapable of doing anything other than commenting on its own powerlessness.”

Far-left leader and presidential hopeful Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who backed the high school students’ movement, took part in the Paris protest Saturday. He has been critical of Nuñez, particularly, as he stated the Interior minister and “the police chiefs have shown complete incompetence.”

Mélenchon also called out law enforcement for using “dispersal grenades” on demonstrators, saying “people are being mutilated by the police.”

President Trump reiterated Monday that he believed the protests in France were caused by immigration to the country.

“The migrants have taken over France. They must CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST,” he wrote on Truth Social .

It’s unclear, however, how much any of the rioting had to do with immigration, as the protests were focused on better schooling facilities. The current demonstrations are backed by workers unions and appear to be mixing broader anger over the cost of living and rising prices in France.